10 fun facts about Burj Al Arab

Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building is built on an artificial island near the Jumeirah beach, its hotel is one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. Below are some interesting facts about Burj Al Arab.

Burj Al Arab

1. Burj Al Arab is taller than it looks, the building is 321 meters by total height and architectural height, that's even taller than Chrysler Building in New York City, and higher than the main observation deck of Empire State Building. However the roof of Burj Al Arab is only slightly above 200 meters, above that are all frame structure and the spire. As of 2018, Burj Al Arab is the 18th tallest building in Dubai.

2. Burj Al Arab was once the tallest hotel in the world, now it had been surpassed by the 3 other hotel buildings, which are also built in Dubai, including Rose Tower, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, Al Attar Tower, became the 4th tallest hotel building in the world (not including mixed-use towers).

3. Burj Al Arab is world's only skyscraper that built on an artificial island, the building stands on an artificial island on Persian Gulf that 280 m (920 ft) from Jumeirah beach and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. The building is specially built there in order to avoid its shadow covering the beach. The reclaimed land took three years to build, while the construction on the building itself took fewer than three years.

4. Burj Al Arab was designed by Atkins, a multidisciplinary consultancy, and led by architect Tom Wright, the shape of building is designed to resemble the sail of a ship, this unique shape has inspired the designs of many other skyscrapers or tall structures in the world, such as Vasco da Gama Tower in Lisbon and Trump Ocean Club International Hotel in Panama City.

5. The atrium in the hotel is 180 m (590 ft) high, it's the highest atrium in the world, the atrium is formed by the Teflon coated fiberglass cloth enclosing the two "wings of the sail" of the building.

6. Despite the building's large scale, it only accommodates 202 suits, as the suits are all designed very spacious, the smallest suite occupies an area of 169 square meters (1,820 sq ft), while the largest occupies 780 square meters (8,400 sq ft).

7. The Royal suite in Burj Al Arab is one of the most expensive hotel suites in the world, billed at US$28,000 per night, the cost of other suites start at $1000 per night.

8. One of the iconic features of Burj Al Arab is that cantilevered platform near the roof, the platform is hovering at a height of 210 m (689 ft) above ground and is being used as a helipad.

9. Near the roof of the building, there's another cantilever structure that extended 27 m (89ft) from either side of the mast at 200 m (660 ft) high above the Persian Gulf.

The extended structure houses a restaurant called Al Muntaha ("The Ultimate"), it offers spectacular aerial views of the gulf and the city of Dubai, and can be accessed by a panoramic elevator.

10. Aside from the restaurant hovering in the sky, there's also a restaurant under the sea, which is named Al Mahara ("Oyster"), it can be accessed via a simulated submarine voyage, the restaurant contains a large seawater aquarium, holding roughly 990,000 L (260,000 US gal) of water. To withstand the water pressure, the wall of the tank is made of acrylic glass and about 18 cm (7.1 in) thick. A poll on Condé Nast Traveler shows the restaurant is one of world's 10 best restaurants.